Mining With declining revenues from oil and gas production in Aceh, and the end of the civil conflict in 2005, there is in- creasing pressure on the provincial government to target rev- enue from expanding the mining sector. Potential minerals for mining within Sumatran orangutan habitat in Aceh and North Sumatra include precious metals, coal, iron ore and bauxite. Mining threats to orangutan populations in northern Sumatra include a major gold mine near the town of Batang

Toru and iron ore mining that has been proposed in the Alas valley, and planned development of coal mining in the hill forests inland of the Tripa swamps (Map 14). Mining itself can be a relatively minor problem, if operations can be con- fined to small restricted areas, and if correctly managed to avoid downstream effects (i.e. water and soil contamination). Te main problem for orangutans is more often the develop- ment of access to remote mining sites, with its corresponding increase in habitat destruction.

37